Apparatus for the delivery of liquids



. 8, 1936. R. CHARMAT APPARATUS FOR THE DELIVERY Of LIQUIDS Filed Jan. 10, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet l- 1936- E R. CHARMAT 2,063,228

APPARATUS FOR THE DELIVERY OF LIQUIDS Filed Jan.'l0, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 W- fi/w/wwl/zf R.CHARMAT APPARATUS FOR THE DELIVERY OF LIQUIDS Filed Jan. 10, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I I I I I I I I I I a I I I I I I I I I I n I VII!!! Patented Dec. 8, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR THE DELIVERY OF LIQUIDS Application January 10, 1934, Serial No. 706,135 In France July 7, 1933 Claims.

This invention relates to a process and apparatus for the dispensing of liquids while preventing the desaturation of said liquids.

An object of the invention is to connect the container to be filled with the container in which the liquid is stored and then passing through the connection the liquid from the storing container to the container to be filled while at the same time discharging the air which is compressed by means of the rising liquid.

An important feature of the invention is to close the container to be filled by compressing the same against a tight packing and then upon one hand connecting the container with a source of saturated liquid and upon the other hand with a gas exhaust opening so that the pressure existing inside of the container will at least be equal to a pressure preventing desaturation of the liquid except perhaps at the beginning of the filling operation.

A further feature of the invention is to provide means such as a calibrated pipe whereby the exhaust of the gases from the container may be controlled.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the container may be applied tightly against a piston reciprocating in a cylinder so that the displacement of the container will cause movement of the piston and thereby compress the air Which is within both the container and the cylinder. The displacement of the piston is such that the pressure of the air within the.

pressure of the gases within the container.

2. Means are provided whereby the gases are led into the container storing the liquid.

3. Means whereby the cylinder of the piston 50 is provided with an air inlet.

4. Means whereby the dispensing of the liquid is stopped as soon as the liquid rises a predetermined head in the container.

The present invention also contemplates the construction wherein the container being filled may be connected to a chamber which is deformable. In such case the chamber is deformed in order to compress the gases enclosed in the container being filled and in the chamber. When the compressed air rises a given pressure the air is led to the storing container and a connection between the storing container and the container being filled is then interrupted. The pressure of the air in the chamber and in the container being filled is thereafter lowered and the dispensing of 10 the liquid into such container is secured by the differences of the pressures existing between the storing container and the container being filled. The air is discharged from the liquid being dispensed until a certain head has been reached in 15 the container being filled.

In the drawings various embodiments of the invention are illustrated and diagrammatically shown as examples.

Figure 1 is a partial sectional and elevational view of one modification of the invention,

Figure 2 is a partial side elevational and cross sectional View illustrating a slight modification,

Figure 3 is a side elevational view with parts in section illustrating a. further modification of the invention,

Figure 4 is a partial cross sectional view of the modification shown in Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a side elevational view with portions in section illustrating another modification of the invention, and

Figure 6 is a cross sectional View of the modification shown in Figure 5 and at right angles thereto.

Considering the modification shown in Figure 1 the glass l into which the liquid is to be dispensed is urged against a fixed packing 2 by means of a spring 3. A lever 4 permits the compressing of the spring 3 and the easy removal of the glass I. A valve assembly hav- 4O ing a hollow body 5 is located above the glass I. The valve assembly is provided with three openings. One of such openings connects the inside of the body 5 with the storing container 6 in which the liquid to be dispensed is maintained under pressure by means of the pipe I. The other openings connect the inside of the body 5 to the atmosphere either by means of the calibrated pipe 8 which is of small diameter or by means of the pipe 9 of relatively large diameter. The pipe 8 is controlled by the valve H]. The three positions that the valve assembly 5 may take are as follows.

In the first position the interior of the body 55 5 and the glass I is separated from the storing container 6 and from the atmosphere.

In the second position the interior of the body 5 and the glass I is connected on one end to the storing container 6 by means of the pipe 'I and upon the other hand to the atmosphere by means of the conduit 8. In this case the pipe s is still maintained closed. The liquid to be dispensed is thus delivered to the glass I while the air and the gases evolved are discharged by means of the pipe 8.

In the third position the conduits I and 8 are closed and the interior of the glass I is connected directly to the atmosphere by means of the pipe 9 so that the pressure within the glass falls rapidly.

The operation of the apparatus above described is as follows. When the valve assembly 5 is in the first position set forth above the glass is positioned and maintained against the tight packing 2 by means of spring 3. The glass is preferably positioned in an eccentric relation to the valve assembly 5 so that the liquid dispensed will strike the walls of the glass. In this way desaturation is reduced. At the proper time the valve assembly 5 is turned to the second position mentioned above. The glass I then fills with liquid while the air and the gases escape through the conduit 8. The diameter and the throttling action of the valve I0 as well as the diameter of the conduit I and the pressure upon the liquid have been so chosen that the pressure in the glass I will be at least equal to the desaturating pressure of the gases contained in the liquid except perhaps at the beginning of the dispensing operation. In this manner no gaseous desaturation of the liquid is liable to take place except perhaps at the beginning of the dispensing operation and the glass I is therefore filled with a liquid which is as fully saturated with gas as the liquid is saturated with gas in the storing container 6.

Therefore the valve assembly 5 being turned to the third position, the pressure above the liquid in the glass I is suddenly lowered. The liquid therein will lose a part of the gas it holds, but such loss which cannot be avoided, may be neglected, especially when compared to the losses incurred in the dispensing of liquids by the devices now in use. The glass I being as mentioned above, rapidly subjected to atmospheric pressure in the filling position, avoids the projection of liquid and the formation of foam. In some cases the first position set forth above may be eliminated.

As stated above, some des-aturation takes place at the beginning of the filling of the glass and such desaturation may be of no importance for some beverages but may be very objectionable for others. The modification shown in FigureZ enables one to avoid such desaturation. In this modification the tight packing is placed upon a piston 2' which reciprocates in a chamber II forming a cylinder for the piston. By pressing the glass I upwardly the piston 2' is urged towards the top of the cylinder II against the action of the spring I2. The air enclosed in both the cylinder II and the glass is practically compressed. When the pressure of this compressed air is higher than the desaturating pressure of the liquid being dispensed, then desaturation is avoided when the pipe I is open and the liquid dispensed.

However, in the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the operation of the valve assembly 5 is independent of the position of the piston 2' which is liable to cause faults in the operation. These faults may be avoided with the modification of the invention shown in Figures 3 and 4. In this modification the container storing the liquid comprises a bottle 6' in inverted position. The piston is indicated at 2" and is urged downwardly by the spring I2 in the cylinder II. A one-way valve I3 will admit air into the cylinder I I when the piston 2" moves downwardly. The bottle 5 and the cylinder II are connected by a pipe I which is at its upper end closed by a valve I4 in turn secured to or integral with a pipe 8 located inside of the pipe I. The valve I4 is maintained in closed position by means of a spring I5 acting upon a plate I6 screwed or fixed upon the end of the pipe 8 and sliding upon the lower exterior surface of the pipe I.

The pipe 8 leads into the conduit I'I whereby the interior of the cylinder II maybe connected with the air space in the bottle 6. The pipe 8' is controlled by a valve I8 secured upon a rod I9. A mouthpiece 2| is attached by means of a pin 20 to the rod I9. The mouthpiece 2| is secured to a plate member 22 which is urged downwardly by the spring 23 and thereby maintains the valve I8 against its seat thereby closing the pipe 8. The mouthpiece 2I is of rubber preferably and projects slightly above the plate 2.7. and

extends downwardly below the same. The plates I6 and 22 are provided with suitable openings so that the liquid being dispensed through the pipe I may enter the glass I. The plate 22 has a flange 28 sliding on the plate I6 in the manner shown particularly in Figure 4.

The bottle 6 is heldon the apparatus by means of frame members 23 and 24. The frame members 23 comprise two telescopingpipes subjected to the action of spring 25. The opening'of the bottle 6 is closed by a rubber plug 26 thereby avoiding leakage. The structure comprising the frame members 23', 24' as well as the cylinder I I, the piston 2" is supported upon the, shaft 21 whereby the entire assembly may be pivoted so' as to permit the proper mounting of the bottle B.

The operation of the above described modifica tion is as follows. The entire apparatus pivots upon the shaft 2! so that the frame members 23' and 24" will assume an angle of about with respect to the vertical normal position. The open-' ing of the bottle 6' is closed by the plug 26 and the bottom of the bottle is maintained in position by the transverse portion 24 of the frame. After the bottle 6 has been placed in position the structure is pivoted into vertical position and the glass I is placed upon a tray such as shown. in

Figure 1 and the spring 3 urges the glass upwardly and presses the same against the piston 2" which is in turn raised thereby compressing the air contained in the glass and in the cylinder,

I I. Upon further upward" movement of the piston 2" the plate 22 is encountered and at this point the pressure of the air in the glass and the cylinder is higher than the desaturating pressure of the liquid contained in the bottle 6'. The

thereby becomes flattened so as to close off the connection between the air in the glass and the air in the bottle. This takes place due to a flattening of the upper portion of the mouth-piece 2I which as stated above, is constructed of flexible material such as rubber. Upon further upward movement of the piston 2" the flange 28 upon the plate 22 comes into operation and raises the plate I6 which is fastened to the pipe 8 and thereby opens the valve I4. Upon opening of the valve I4 liquid is dispensed from the bottle 6' through the circular space between the pipes I and 8' into the glass I. The liquid being dispensed passes through the openings provided in the plates I8 and 22 and draws with it the air in the upper part of the bottle 6. When the head of the liquid in the glass reaches the lower end of the mouthpiece 2| the air in the glass is separted from the upper part of the bottle 6. The air in 1 the glass and also the gases evolved from the dispensed liquid are entrapped and will exert on the liquid being dispensed a constantly increasing back pressure which will finally compensate for the pressure of the liquid column caused by the different levels in the bottle 6 and in the glass. This building up of the back pressure will automatically stop the dispensing of the liquid. It is obvious that by a proper selection of the sizes of the various elements the dispensing of 1 the liquid may be stopped at any desired head.

The glass after being filled is removed by lowering the supporting tray thereafter by means of the lever 4, as previously explained with reference to the modification shown in Figure 1. The other parts of the device will then return to their normal position and the valves I4 and I8 will be again closed under the actions of the springs I and 23 respectively. Another glass may then be filled with liquid.

In the embodiment of the invention described above the action of the spring I2 has to be overcome and more force is necessary in order to raise the glass. Such a discharge may be avoided by making the cylinder integral with the packing and moving the cylinder by means of the glass. In such case the upper part of the cylinder corresponding to the movable piston is made stationary. Such an embodiment of the invention is shown in Figures 5 and 6 in which the inside of the cylinder II is connected to the air portion of the storing tank 6 by means of a pipe 9 and is connected to the outer atmosphere by the oneway flap valve I3. The cylinder II reciprocates with respect to the fixed piston 3I which is fixed to the conduit 7'. Upon the cylinder I I lugs 32 are provided having openings therein through which the rods 33 extend. The rods 33 are fixed at their lower ends to the tray 34 which supports the glass I and at their upper ends to a transverse rod 35 which in turn has mounted thereon a rack member 56 which can be actuated by the gear controlled by the lever 4. A guide ring 38 is provided for the cylinder II and this guide ring slides upon the rods 33 and is maintained at a predetermined distance from the transverse rod 35 by means of the sleeves 29 encircling the rods 33. Springs 39 extend between the ring 38 and the lugs 32 of the cylinder I I".

A chamber 45 is located above the cylinder I I" and the transverse rod 35 and this chamber is connected with the interior of the cylinder II" by the pipe 7'. Located within the pipes 'I is a concentric pipe 8 and the pipe 8 is formed in two parts connected together by a rubber or flexible hose 44. In this manner displacements of the lower portion of the pipe 8" are taken care of while the upper portion may remain stationary. The movable portion of the pipe 8 has secured thereto a piston 46 which is provided with openings 41 and which slides within the chamber 45. The chamber 45 is connected with an auxiliary container 4! and also with the storing container 6 by means of the pipe 31. The piston 46 has a flange which closes the inlet of the liquid through the pipe 31 when the piston is in its upper position and the inlet of the pipe 3'! is uncovered when the piston is in its lower position. A valve I4 is mounted upon the pipe 8 closing the space between the pipe I" and the pipe 8" through which the dispensed liquid flows. The gases flow through the pipe 8 which is controlled by a valve I 8 mounted upon the rod IS. The rod I9 is also provided with a valve 42 which will close the upper opening 43 of the membrane 40 when the rod I9 is lifted and the valve I8 opens. When the valve 42 is open then the valve I8 is closed. The pipe I is stationary while the movable portion of the pipe 8" has secured thereto a plate I6 sliding upon the pipe I and urged downwardly by a spring I5 having one end bearing against the fixed piston 3I. The rod I9 is movable and has attached thereto a mouthpiece 2 I fixed to a plate 22 which plate is urged downwardly by the spring 23. The mouthpiece 2I is secured to the rod I9 by the pin 20. The elements just described have the same action as previously described with respect to the embodiments illustrated in Figures 3 and 4.

Upon lowering of the lever 4 the rack 36 is raised, carrying with it the transverse rod 35 and the rods 33 as well as the tray 34, and the cylinder II is carried upwardly by means of the glass upon the tray contacting the packing 2".

The displacement of the cylinder II with respect to the fixed piston 3I will cause a compression of the air wtihin the glass and within the cylinder I I, and will force the air so compressed into the storing container 6 through the pipe 9. When the packing 2" comes into contact with the plate 22 the valve 43 is closed and the valve I8 is open, thereby connecting the interior of the cylinder II with the interior of the membrane 48 supported within the auxiliary container M. In this way the pressure is suddenly lowered in the cylinder II and the valve 48 is closed, thus separating the container Ii from the cylinder I I. At this time the air of the glass is con nected with the interior of the membrane 40 by means of the mouthpiece 2| and the pipe 8". Upon continuation of the upward movement of the packing 2" the projecting upper portion of the mouthpiece 2| is pressed and flattened against the lower portion of the pipe 8 thereby separating the interior of the glass and the interior of the membrane 4!] from the cylinder I I. Upon further ascending movement the flange 28 lifts the plate I6 and consequently the pipe 8" thereby opening the valve I4. At the same time the inlet of the pipe 37 is closed by the piston 46. The liquid coming from the container 45 flows into the circular space provided between the pipes I and B and passes through the openings of the plates I6 and 22" and is dispensed into the glass, thereby forcing the air in the glass into the membrane 40. When the level of the liquid in the glass reaches the lower part of the mouthpiece 2| the air of the glass and the interior of the diaphragm 40 are separated from the other parts of the apparatus. The air contained in the glass and also the gases evolved from the dispensed liquid are now entrapped and will exert on the liquid being dispensed a constantly increasing back pressure which finally compensates the pressure of the liquid column separating the levels in the container 6 and in the glass. This will automatically stop the dispensing of the liquid and by a proper selection of the various elements of the apparatus the dispensing of the liquid may be stopped at any predetermined level in the glass.

To remove the glass which has been filled the lever 4 is raised. This lowers the rack 36 and the tray 44 with the filled glass. The cylinder II" and the packing 2" due to the action of the springs 39 follow the motion of the glass until the stops 49 upon the cylinder ll" abut against the fixed piston 3!. This stops the movement of the packing 2 while the tray 34 continues to descend somewhat further and the glass may then be easily removed,

I claim:

1. An apparatus for dispensing under pressure a liquid saturated with gas into a filling container comprising a chamber, means for applying said filling container in a tight manner against said chamber, a reserve container containing the liquid to be dispensed, conduits connecting said chamber upon one hand with said reserve container and upon the other hand with the atmosphere, means controlling the last named of said conduits, means establishing permanent communication between the air spaces in said chamber and in said filling container and means for deforming said chamber in such manner as to cause a reduction of the volume of said chamber and consequently an increase of the pressure of the gas enclosed in said container to be filled and in said chamber.

2. An apparatus for dispensing a liquid saturated with a gas into a filling container comprising a chamber, means for applying the container to be filled in a tight manner to said chamber, means for deforming the assembly formed by the filling container and the said chamber, a reserve container, an auxiliary container partly filled with gas and partly with liquid to be dispensed, a first conduit for the passage of gas connecting said chamber to said reserve container, a one-way valve controlling said conduit, a second conduit for the passage of the liquid connecting said reserve container with said auxiliary container, a third conduit for the passage of gas connecting a portion of the auxiliary container filled with gas with said chamber, a valve closing said third conduit, a fourth conduit for the passage of liquid connecting a portion of the auxiliary container filled with liquid with said chamber and means for closing one of said conduits conducting the liquid and for opening simultaneously the other conduit for the liquid.

3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which the chamber is formed as a cylinder, the bottom of which is furnished with an opening and forms a tight mounting for the filling container and a piston located in said cylinder capable of being displaced.

4. An apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which the chamber is formed as a cylinder, the bottom of which is provided with an opening, a piston in said cylinder and means for displacing said cylinder in relation to said piston.

5. An apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which the chamber is formed as a cylinder having a bottom provided with an opening and a mounting located therein for securing a tight fit with the container to be filled and in which the means for applying the container to be filled in a tight manner to said chamber and the means for deforming the assembly formed by the filling container and the said chamber comprises a piston located therein and comprising a frame serving as a support for said container to be filled by means of an element integral with said frame, an element integral with said cylinder and a spring disposed between said elements, a control lever, means interconnecting said control lever and said frame in order to provide a movement relative to the latter with relation to said piston.

6. An apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which the conduits connecting the chamber to the auxiliary container are formed as two concentric tubes.

'7. An apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which the third conduit is formed as two tubes connected by a coupling of deformable material, one of said tubes being flexible and movable while the other is fixed.

8. An apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which the conduits connecting the chamber to the auxiliary container are formed as two concentric tubes and in which the third conduit is formed by two elements connected by a coupling formed of deformable material of which one of the elements is fixed while the other is movable and means for controlling the opening and closing of said two conduits serving for the passage of liquid.

9. An apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which the two portions of the auxiliary container are separated by a deformable membrane.

10. An apparatus for dispensing liquids into a container comprising a chamber, means for deforming said chamber, means for maintaining said container to be filled in position for the filling thereof, means for maintaining a permanent communication in an air tight manner between the air spaces of said container and said chamber at least until the moment when the means for deforming said chamber comes into action, a reserve container, a first conduit for the passage of liquid connecting said chamber to said reserve container, a second conduit connecting said chamber to the exterior thereof for the exhausting of the gas, means for closing said conduit, means for opening said conduits and means interconnecting the means for opening the conduits and the means for deforming said chamber.

I ROBERT CHARMAT. 

